October 14, 2008

Gerdau to buy stake in Colombian coke maker Cleary Holdings

Reuters reported that Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau Group has signed a purchase agreement to buy a 50.9% stake in Colombian coke producer Cleary Holdings Corp in a deal valued at USD 59 million.

Cleary controls coke production units, with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes and coking coal reserves in Colombia, estimated at 20 million tonnes. Its output is exported mainly to the United States, Peru, Canada and Brazil.

Gerdau in a statement said that "This acquisition is in line with Gerdau Group's growth strategy in the Americas and represents an important step in order to assure basic inputs for the steel production.”

It added that the deal still needs to be approved by regulatory agencies in Colombia.